When it comes to pizza, the sauce is just as important as the dough and cheese. After all, it’s responsible for giving every bite of gooey, melted cheese and soft, chewy dough the right amount of flavor and aromatics. Yet, it’s one of the most intimidating things to make from scratch. That’s why there are at least 15 tips you need to keep in mind when making your own pizza sauce. But even with these tips, sometimes it’s easier to use jarred pizza sauce. Yes, it’ll never taste as good as a homemade, extra-flavorful pizza sauce, but it will save you time, money, and a massive headache — as long as you choose the right one. While some sauces are quite delicious, others are rather terrible. And shockingly enough, Trader Joe’s past version of pizza sauce, its since-discontinued Fat Free Pizza Sauce, fell into the latter category in Tasting Table’s ranking of grocery store pizza sauce brands in 2024.
This sauce completely missed the mark in terms of flavor. Promising to be a hearty addition to your pizza, this sauce brought a level of acidity that was so off-putting that it managed to clash and overpower the delicate flavors of the cheese and dough. Plus, it failed to bring any depth of flavor to a pizza. The inclusion of citric acid was the only thing you tasted.
Why did Trader Joe’s Fat Free Pizza Sauce have to be replaced?
Instead of using fresh tomatoes, Trader Joe’s opted to use water and tomato paste in its former pizza sauce, and this negatively affected the integrity of the sauce. It desperately needed a hint of freshness to balance its off-putting flavor. And the sweetness of fresh tomatoes could have helped control the overwhelming tartness. Plus, they would have enhanced the existing flavors without being overbearing. Even the addition of chunky tomato bits would have been a great textural element.
Labeled as fat-free, Trader Joe’s also omitted olive oil from the sauce. And that was a massive mistake. Unfortunately, the lack of oil gave the sauce a degree of thinness that you wouldn’t expect from a traditional pizza sauce and caused it not to be as full-bodied as its counterparts. Maybe if olive oil were present in this sauce, it might have subdued that strong acidic taste and given it more flavor. However, it did have a beautiful consistency that was perfect for spreading onto a fresh or store-bought dough.
Luckily, Trader Joe’s acknowledged its pizza sauce missed the mark. After several taste tests, the company relaunched a new and improved jarred pizza sauce. Packaged in a glass jar, the new version is 2 ounces smaller than the original and is priced at $1.99. And Trader Joe’s promises this sauce will have a bright tomato flavor and fewer seasonings, so it won’t overwhelm your pizza. Plus, this iteration includes extra virgin olive oil, so it shouldn’t have the same problems as the original. Hopefully, these changes will rid this sauce of its horrendous flavor. Otherwise, it will always be known as the worst grocery store pizza sauce.
